Legislature Approves Plan To Reform Florida Schools

TALLAHASSEE -- Parents and teachers will get a greater voice in the public schools as part of a revamp of Florida`s education system that won approval from the Legislature on Thursday.

After weeks of haggling, the House and Senate finally agreed on Blueprint 2000, a move to bring accountability to Florida`s public schools by returning decision-making power to the local level.

``Now all parents will a part of school improvement,`` said Geri Introcaso of Miramar, a parent who chairs the Florida School Advisory Council. ``Hopefully, we`ll no longer have principals hiding from the public. There will be a focus on communication.``

Pushed by Education Commissioner Betty Castor and Gov. Lawton Chiles, the plan calls for all schools to determine what they need to help teach their students, and what price tag that will carry.

``They will have to work on (school) needs assessments, and they`ll have to find solutions,`` Introcaso said.

The individual school plans will then be submitted to the new Florida Commission on Education Reform and Accountability by November.

``This will give us an assessment of what the schools need,`` said Senate President Gwen Margolis, D-North Miami Beach. ``It will be the best tool to have (in the 1992 session) when we`ll be talking about tax reform.``

Castor said the bill will revolutionize education in Florida.

``It signals the most dramatic change in the way schools operate, and it ensures parents a role at the table in developing school improvement plans,`` Castor said. ``All the momentum will shift to the local level.``

Each school will have a council made up of parents, teachers and members of the local business community. The council will develop the school`s curriculum plan and, if approved, must have it in operation by July 1993. Any school that does not have a plan will endanger an entire county`s lottery dollars.

``That`s the only hammer in this bill, and I guarantee each school will have a plan in place,`` said Sen. Bob Johnson, R-Sarasota.

About $20 million has been included in the state`s education budget to finance programs suggested by these councils and to develop training. The money will be distributed to districts based on the number of students enrolled.

Some districts -- most notably Dade County -- already have similar parent- teacher planning. These districts would be allowed to use some of the money for other student activity, under a compromise reached between the House and Senate.

The new state commission, meanwhile, has been directed to hold 10 public hearings throughout the state to learn more about Florida`s education needs. The commission will then report to the Legislature its recommendations on changing graduation requirements and developing statewide standards to measure student improvement.

The accountability plan has been inspired by Florida`s consistently poor academic credentials. Legislators have poured big bucks into education for years, yet recent student test scores dropped in math and science, and the state still has one of the nation`s highest dropout rates.

Proponents of accountability say it is time to give parents more local control of schools.

``This bill says the Legislature is going to get out of a teacher`s business and let them do what they do best,`` said Rep. Frank Stone, R-Oviedo.